Apparatus for the complete laundering of fabrics



March 19, 1957 w, w JR 2,785,557

APPARATUS FOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDERING OF FABRICS Filed Jan. 11, 1952 7Sheets-Sheet l March 19, 1957 w. E. STILWELL, JR

APPARATUS FOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDERING OF FABRICS Filed Jan. 11, 1952 7Sheets-Sheet 2 72 6' 0 657/59 INVEN March 19, 1957 w. E. STILWELL, JR2,785,557

APPARATUS FOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDERING OF FABRICS Filed Jan. 11, 1952SheatsSheet :5

// INVEN TOR.

BY wzpgyflu 2,785,557 APPARATUS FOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDERING OF- FABRICSFiled Jan. 11, 1952' March 19, 1957 w. E. STILWELL, JR

7 Sheets-Sheet 4 3 y a m Z March 19, 1957 w. E. STILWELL, JR

APPARATUS FOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDERING 0F FABRICS Filed Jan. 11, 1952 7Sheets-Sheet 5 March 19, 1957 w. E. STlLWELL, JR

APPARATUS FOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDERING OF FABRICS Filed Jan. 11, 1952 "rShe ets-Sheet Is law VI March 19, 1957 w. E. STILWELL, JR 2,785,557

APPARATUS FOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDERING OF FABRICS 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 FiledJan. 11, 1952- NN K jeZ/azycie Ja/rfral United States Patent APPARATUSFOR THE COMPLETE LAUNDER- ING F FABRICS Wiiliam E. Stilwell, Jr.,Glendale, Ohio, assignor to The Murray Corporation of America, Detroit,Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application January 11, 1952, SerialNo. 266,050

32 Claims. (Cl. 68-12) This invention relates to fabric launderingmachines, and particularly to a machine which washes and dries thefabrics in a single cycle of operation.

it has long been an object in the art of laundering machines to achievethe washing and drying of fabrics in a single cycle of operation in sucha short time as to render such machines commercially acceptable. In sucha type of machine, the fabrics are placed therein and removed therefromin the dry state, thus avoiding the handling of wet fabrics as occurstoday.

it has been a further object in the art to achieve drying of fabrics ina short cycle of time, using energy froma conventional 1l5-volt circuitrather than from a 230- volt circuit which is employed in driers nowsupplied to the trade.

All of these objects or achievements have been attained in thelaundering machine of the present invention, which is acontinuation-in-part of the copending application of- W. E. Stilwell,Jr. Serial No. 245,585, filedSeptember 7, 1951, and licensed to theassignee of the present in vention.

The tub, receptacle and cabinet employed in the present invention aresubstantially the same as disclosed in the copending application. Thereceptacle is of a size required to properlydry six pounds of fabrics,and is operated in a manner to properly wash this amount of fabrics. Thecabinet is completely insulated and is constructed of a size to have thedesired width and depth while being of counter height to conform to theheightof sinks and other cabinets or appliances with which thelaundering machine may be employed.

A new principle of washing and drying is incorporated in the launderingmachine by which it is possible to accomplish the washing and dryingoperations in forty-five minutes or less time when the electricalelements thereof are energized solely from a single ll5-volt electriccircuit. The laundering machine utilizes a closed air-circulating systemwhich transfers no moisture or lint to the surrounding atmosphere whichheretofore occurred when drying machines now furnished to the tradeperformed a drying operation. drying and circulating structure issupported on the tub along with the motor and speed-reducing drivemechanism. This structure embodies a blower which exhausts through aconduit containing the heat-accumula-v tor-and-exchanger unit which isconnected to an opening through the rear wall of the tub.

The blower draws the air through a partitioned duct in which adehumidifier is located to form part of the partition. The partitionedduct permits a division of the hot, humid air being drawn from the tubso that a portion thereof will pass directly into the blower while theother portion must first pass through the desumidifier. Atemperature-regulated damper may be placed in the lat: ter section ofthe partitioned duct for the purpose of changing the relative amounts ofair flowing through the two sections of the duct. This was found to beexceptionally beneficial when drying the fabrics by the newly Anexceedingly simple airdeveloped method practiced by the herein describedlaundering machine.

By maintaining he saturation of the air in the 100% recirculatory systemat a relatively high value, the latent eat of the vapor in the airentering the tub is much higher than if the air had a lower moisturecontent. Furthermore, by using air having a high temperature, the totalheat content of a given volume of air-vapor mixture (the total heatcontent being defined as the sum of the sensible heat of the air and thelatent heat of the vapor) can be made higher and thus the ability toheat the fabrics to a satisfactory. evaporating temperature isincreased. All of the recirculatory air may be passed through adehumidifier, with the cooling medium controlled so as to remove only asmall percentage of moisture content of the air. Similar results couldbe obtained by passing only a portion, say 25%, of the air through thecondenser, removing a greater percentage of moisture therefrom, whichpercentage, when added to the air bypassing the condenser, would havethe same amount of moisture removed, as in the first example, when allof the air is passed through the condenser. In any of the arrangements ahigh moisture content is maintained in the air passing from the tub, andthe moisture removed by the condenser would be an amount substantiallyequal to the amount of water removed from the fabrics and any additionalamount required to maintain the substantially constant moisture contentdue to the lowering of the temperature of the recirculatory air. Thus,the heating of the air which is delivered back into the containerincreases the ability of the air to evaporate water and to carry awayvapor from within the container manyfold while maintaining the fabricsand casing walls at a high temperature which also increases the rate ofremoval of the water and vapors from the fabrics. To maintain highefiiciency, at least during the predominant part of the drying cycle,the input air to the container should be less than 50% saturation andgreater than 10% saturation, and the output air from the containershould be greater than 50% saturation and less than saturation.

The reasons that such high drying efi'iciencies are obtained are, first,practically all of the thermal radiation losses, normally occurring indrying machines, are eliminated by housing the tub and all the operatingparts of the machine within a thermally insulated and sealed cabinet;and second, the centrifuging efiiciency per R. P. M. of the rotatinginner receptacle per pound of fabrics and water being centrifuged ishigher than is found elsewhere in laundering receptacles of the sizedisclosed herein. The final spin rinse occurs with the highest tap-watertemperature available, which results not only in the fabrics and theircontained moisture being at an unconventionally high thermal-energylevel, but also the viscosity, decreasing with the increase intemperature, facilitates the centrifuging operation.

The decrease in viscosity is assisted during the latter part of thefinal centrifuging operation by the drawing of heated air from the heataccumulator and exchanger at high temperatures due to the circulationthereof caused by the rotation of the receptacle at high speed, whichthereby favorably affects the viscosity of the water in the fabrics andelevates the temperature thereof to a higher thermal-energy level. As aresult, the combina: tion of the high tap-water temperature during thespin rinse and the thermal energy removed from the thermal accumulatorproduces a centrifuging efiiciency equal to centrifugers having threeand a half times the centrifugal force obtained in the present machinewhen not employing the high temperature spin rinse and the heat from thethermal accumulator. This theory is entirely contrary to theconventional concept that the drying process is best accomplished withdry air.

The present laundering machine is operated on a new principle that thehighest drying rate will obtain when the output air from the blower ismaintained at a saturation of 70% to 80% and a thermal-energy levelranging from 175 to 210 F. dry bulb. The reasons for this unconventionalsolution to the fabric drying problems are, first, the moisture-carryingability of air is generally considered to be double with each 20elevation in temperature; second, the facility with which water may beevaporated from fabrics will depend in large measure on the temperatureat which the fabrics are maintained during the evaporating cycle. Tothis end, hot, moist air, having a higher total heat than hot, dry air,will be able, by conduction and/ or convection, to heat the fabrics tothe desired evaporating temperature; and third, the evaporatingefliciency is enhanced by keeping the entire recirculatory drying systemon the maximum thermalenergy level commensurate with theelectrical-energy input to the thermal exchanger.

The principle employed in the laundering machine by which the successfuland rapid drying of fabrics is accomplished in an extremely short timeon a single 115- volt circuit, is based on the approximated theory thata 20 F. rise in temperature of air will substantially double itsmoisture-carrying ability, and also on the assumption that therecirculated air will be maintained at a high temperature. For thisreason, only a portion of the continuously circulated air is bypassedthrough the dehumidifier to lower the weight and the dry-bulbtemperature thereof by condensing a portion of the water vaportherefrom. Thus, for example, if the temperature of the 25% bypassedsaturated air is lowered 20, half of the water-vapor content thereof isremoved, and when this air is mixed with the 75% which bypassed thedehumidifier, then the water vapor removed from the aggregate would beone-eighth of that contained in the air when drawn from the tub. Thetemperature of the air before being delivered back to the tub will beraised approximately 80 above that when drawn into the blower afterpassing through the heat accumulatorexchanger, and the ability of thisair to evaporate water will be raised many fold.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to provide alaundering machine for washing and drying fabrics in a single cycle ofoperation within an acceptable time, operating from a single 1l5-voltcircuit; to employ a 100% recirculatory system of air during the dryingcycle in which the air is maintained at a high total heat; to provide aclosed system of air circulation in a laundering machine in which aportion of the circulating moist air is passed through a dehumidifier toremove part of the vapor content therefrom and is mixed with theremainder of the moist air not so treated before passing the resultingmixture through the accumulator and exchanger unit, and, in general, toprovide a laundering machine for washing and drying fabrics which issimple in construction, positive in operation and economical ofmanufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will bespecifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for abetter understanding of the invention, to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a laundering machine embodyingfeatures of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the laundering machine illustrated inFig. 1, with the ironer cover and loading door in open position;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view of the machineillustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 33 thereof;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig.3, taken on the line 4-4 thereof;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the structure illustrated inFig. 3, taken on the line 5-5 thereof;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the structureillustrated in Fig. 4, taken on the line 6-6 thereof;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the structureillustrated in Fig. 4, taken on the line 77 thereof;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the structureillustrated in Fig. 5, taken on the line 88- thereof;

Fig. 9 is a reduced, fragmentary vertical sectional view of thestructure illustrated in Fig. 3, taken on the line 99 thereof;

Fig. 10 is a reduced, fragmentary horizontal sectional v view of thestructure illustrated in Fig. 3, taken on the on the line 11-11 thereof;

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view of the structure illustrated inFig. 11, taken on the line 1212 thereof; Fig. 13 is an enlarged,fragmentary vertical sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig.3, taken on the line 1313 thereof;

Fig. 14 is a horizontal sectional view of the structure illustrated inFig. 13, taken on the line 1414 thereof;

Fig. 15 is a time chart illustrating the time of operation of thevarious components of the laundering machine;

Fig. 16 is a wiring diagram which may be employed in the launderingmachine of the present invention;

Fig. 17 (Sheet No. l) is a broken view of structure, similar to thatillustrated in Fig. 2, showing another form of the invention, and

Fig. 18 (Sheet No. 6) is a view of structure, similar to that shown inFig. 12, illustrating a further form which the invention may assume.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a complete laundering machine embodying acabinet containing a tub having therein a rotor in which the fabrics arewashed and completely dried, and having thereon, as a separatecomponent, a mangle-ironer unit. The cabinet embodies a I metal casing17 having side Walls 18 and 19 which are extended upwardly at 21 in unitrelation with a top panel 22 which extends a short distance downwardlyat the rear at 23. The side panels may be in continuation with a frontpanel 24 to form a wrap-around type of cabinet having a cutaway area 25in which an ironer unit 26 is located. A cover 27 is hinged at 28 to bemoved in closed position over the ironer unit in continuation of the toppanel 22, as illustrated in Fig. 1, or to be in open position and swungback upon the top panel, as illustrated in Fig. 2, when the ironer unitis in use.

The cabinet is completely sealed and insulated by in ternal insulatingand sealing material 29 and the back opening is enclosed by a removablepanel 31 which is also covered on its inner face by the insulatingmaterial 29. The panel is secured in position by a plurality of wingnuts 32 provided at the top and bottom and along the sides, ifnecessary, so that the nuts may be readily removed along with the backpanel from studs 33 provided about the rear wall of the cabinet. Thefront panel 24 has an opening 34 therein which is closed by a door 35hinged along the bottom edge of the opening by a hinge 36. The door 35may be provided with a glass window 37 which is sealed thereto in theconventional manner so that the movement of the fabrics within thereceptacle may be viewed during the operating cycle. The bottom of thecabinet thus described is rigidly secured to angle members 38 which arewelded to each other to form a square supporting frame for the cabinet.

Those angle members 38, which extend laterally across the front and rearof the machine, support channel members 39 which extend from the frontto the rear of the cabinet near each side panel 18 and 19 thereof.Apertures 41 are provided in the angle members near the forward and rearends thereof, through which a threaded stud 42 of a bracket 43. extendswhen the brackets are secured to the members. A floordeveling grommet 44is threaded upon the stud 42 for leveling the laundering rnachine andfor directly supporting the load of the tub and mechanism supportedthereon. An arm 45 is pivoted at its lower end on a pin 46 on eachbracket 43, the opposite end forming an oval sleeve 47 in which aresilient sleeve 48, made of rubber or the like, is bonded to the innersurface of the sleeve 47. Oval-shapcd hubs 49 are bonded to the innersurfaces of the resilient sleeves 48. Arms 51, having a bifurcated end52 spanning the hubs, are secured thereto in a suitable manner, hereinillustrated as by rivets 53. The opposite ends of the arms 51 arebifurcated at 54 to receive protruding studs 55 on brackets 56 to whichthey are secured by pivots 57. The brackets are attached directly to theforward lower portion of a tub 58 at each side thereof, While brackets69 at the rear of the cabinet are secured to channel members 59 whichare secured to the tub 58 and extend beyond a rear wall 61 of the tub-8. Removable bracing elements 63 may be employed for connecting lowerribs 62 of the rear wall of the tub to the ends of the channel members59 by bolts 70. In this manner, the tub and all of the elements attachedthereto are supported on the pairs of arms 45 and 51 through the rubbersleeves 48 at the four corners of the cabinet, for a purpose which willbe described specifically hereinafter.

The tub has a peripheral wall 64 having a front flange 65 to which afront wall 66 is secured. The wall 66 may be of standard thickness ormay be made heavy, as explained in the above-mentioned copendingapplication, for the purpose of shifting the center of weight of the tubforwardly from the rear wall. At the rear of the tub, an outwardlypresented channel 68 is provided for receiving the rear wall 61 which issecured thereto by a wrap-around ring 69 which engages mating flanges 71and 72 on the peripheral wall 64 and rear wall 61, respectively. ThechanneLsh-aped ring 69 is drawn tightly about the flanges by a bolt 73,as illustrated in Fig. 4. The front wall 66 is provided with an opening74 substantially the shape of the opening 34 in the front wall 24 of thecabinet, the openings being sealed relative to each other by a suitableseal element 75 which is flexible to permit vibratory movement of thetub independently of the cabinet. The central bottom area of the tub isprovided with a plurality of openings 76 which communicate with achannel-shaped drain housing 77 which is welded to the bottom of the tuband which has an outlet port 78 provided in a drain Well 79 thereof andcommunicating with a drain valve 70.

Within the tub is mounted a rotatable cylindrical receptacle 80 whichmay be of the built-up or drawn type, having a rear wall 82 reinforcedby embossed ribs 83 and having a plurality of vanes 84 in a peripheralwall 31 extending horizontally along the entire width of the peripheralwall, the vanes being herein illustrated as six in number. Thereceptacle has an annular vertical front wall 85 which extends towardthe horizontal axis of the cylinder only a short distance in order toprovide a large opening 86 in the front face of the receptacle. Asealing element 37 seals the edge of the opening 86 to the front wall 66of the tub. The rear wall 82 of the receptacle has an annular opening 88therein covered by a screen 89 across which the embossed portion of eachof the ribs 83 extends. The central portion of the rear Wall 82 has ahub 91 secured thereto for receiving an end portion 92 of a shaft 93which is supported in bearings 94 in a hub 95 on the rear wall 61 of thetub. A pulley 96 is secured to the shaft 93 in driving relation by a key97 and by a stud 98 threaded into the end of the shaft. The rear wall 61of the tub is provided with annular sealing elements 99 and 101 at eachside of the annular opening 38 in the rear wall of the receptacle forsealing the opening between the walls 61 and 82 in the area of the open.ing 88, for a purpose which will be described hereinafter.

The plurality of ribs 33, as illustrated in Fig. 9, which span theannular opening 88 in the rear wall of the re,- ceptacle 80, have sideflanges 102 at opposite ends ad; jacent each side of the opening, bywhich the ribs are securely welded to rigidly connect the central andouter portions of the receptacle rear wall 82. It will be noted that theperipheral wall 81 of the receptacle is provided with a plurality ofapertures 103 through which water in the tub may pass and fro-m whichthe water within the rotor and fabrics may be extracted. The directionof rotation of receptacle is indicated by an arrow in Fig. 9, and eachvane has its leading wall disposed slightly be yond radial position forlifting the fabrics to a desired height and the vane walls are void ofapertures so that the fabrics can readily slide from the vanes whenraised to the desired height. It will be noted further in Figs. 3 and 9that the hub 91 of the receptacle is secured to the end portion 92 ofthe shaft 93 by a stud 104.

A pivot-providing bracket 105 is mounted on the top of the tub S3, andsupports a tiltable platform for a motor 106 which may be tilted on thebracket for tightening a belt 112 that drives a speed-reducer unit 107.The speedreducer unit is pivoted on a bracket 108 which is welded orotherwise secured to the peripheral wall of the tub 58. The pivot of thebracket 108 is so located that the tension applied by the motor throughthe belt 112 to the speed reducer tightens a belt 114 to the receptaclepulley 96. Springs 1490 extend between the motor-carrying platform andthe tub wall 6 and are so tensioned as to bias the motor for tilting ina direction that will tighten the belts 112 and 11 The motor 106 drivesa pulley 109 for driving a pulley 111 on a forward side of the speedsreducer unit 107 through the belt 112. Another pulley 113 spaced from arear side of the speed reducer drives the pulley 96 for rotating thereceptacle through the belt 114. A bearing 115 spaced from the rear ofthe speed reducer and disposed adjacent to the pulley 113 is supportedin a suitable spider bracket 116 mounted on and extending rearwardlyfrom the rear face of the speedreducer unit. In this arrangement, themotor drives the receptacle at different speeds through the speedreducer, the selected speed being controlled through the gears andclutches of the speed-reducer unit as operated by solenoids hereinafterdescribed.

A channel bracket 117 is mounted on the rear angle member 33 at thebottom of the cabinet for supporting a pump motor 113 and a pump 119which is secured thereto. A flexible conduit 121 connects the drainvalve 70 at the outlet port 78 of the drain well 79 to the pump. Theoutlet side of the pump is connected through a flexible conduit 122 to aconduit 123 at the top of the cabinet, which may be directed to a drainor permanently connected thereto. A cold-water inlet 124 and a hotwaterinlet 125 are connected to a solenoid-operated valve 126 for deliveringwater at a controlled temperature through a conduit 127 and abackflow-preventer device 128 which is connected by a conduit 129 to adelivery nozzle 131 in the rear wall 61 of the tub and opposite to theopening $3 in the rear wall 82 of the receptacle 80. The nozzle has athin slot therein for producing a force spray. The device 128 has aweight valve which prevents a suction in the line 127 from drawing thedelivered water or the created suds into the hot and cold water lines125, 124 should a suction occur therein. The weight valve 13-0 restsupon the lower seat and seals the line 127 from the line 129 and restsagainst the upper seat when water is admitted through the device 128 tothe line 129. The air dome above the upper seat has outlet openingsthrough which the interior of the tub breathes through the line 129 whenthe Weight valve 130 rests upon the lower seat. A conduit 135, alsohaving a backflow-preventing device 128 therein from the co1dwater inletconduit 124, bypasses the valve 126, the delivery of water from theconduit 135 being controlled by the solenoid-operated valve 136 which isadjustable 7 toaccurately regulate the delivery of water therefrom;A'flexible conduit 137 directs the water from thevalve 136 to the top ofa condenser 138 which is mounted within an air-intake housing 139, asillustrated more specifically in Figs. 11 and 12.

The top of the tub 58 has an aperture 141 in its upper peripheral wallenclosed by the housing 139. The opening is enclosed by a fine screen142 which forms a trap for the lint picked up by the air as it iswithdrawn from the tub. A partition 143 divides the opening into twosections 144 and 145, the section 144 forming a direct passage for theflow of air from the tub aperture 141 to a blower-inlet conduit 146,while the air passing through the section 145 is passed through thecondenser 138 to thereafter-mix with the air drawn through the section14-4 whenever suction is produced in the blower inlet conduit 146. Theamount of air passing through the condenser relative to the amount whichbypasses the condenser is controlled by a damper 147 having an arm 1 53thereon which is operated by a bimetallic thermostatic element 149. Whenthe temperature of the air passing through the section 145 is high, theshutter 147 is in fully open position. As the temperature drops, theshutter begins to close, thereby reducing the amount of air passingthrough the condenser relative to the amount which bypasses thecondenser.

A flexible conduit 151 connects the outlet port at the bottom of thecondenser 138 to the suction side of the pump 119. A blower 152, of theSirocco fan type, is connected to the tub for support by means of itsinlet conduit 146 on the air-intake housing 139 and by its outletconduit 153 which is supported by a tub-mounted sleeve 158. A motor 154is mounted on the top of the casing of the blower 152, and has a pulley155 thereon connected in driving relation to a pulley 156 on the blower152 by a belt 157. The outlet conduit 153 projects within the sleeve(see Fig. 13) having an elbow 159 on the lower end which communicateswith the interior of the tub 58 through an aperture confronting theannular opening 38 in the rear wall or" the receptacle 89. A heavywalledtube 161 is supported within the sleeve 158, preferably in spacedrelation to the wall thereof. The tube 161 is herein illustrated asbeing spaced from the wall by spacing washers 163 and is supported onthe wall by screws 164. The upper end of the tube may be tapered, as at165, in the manner illustrated, or at different angles, for regulatingthe amount of air passing through the tube 161 to that passing over theouter wall thereof. A sheath heating strip 166 is wound within the innerwall of the tube 161 to be in direct contact with the wall thereof. Theterminal ends of the strip 166 extend through insulators 167 which, inturn, extend through the sleeve 158 and through a cover of insulatingmaterial 171 near the upper and lower ends of the tube 161. The heatingstrip is secured to the ends of current supply conductors by nuts 168 onstud ends of the heating strip. A sinuous partition 169 is providedwithin the tube 161 for the purpose of causing turbulence to the airpassing through the tube so that heat will be readily picked up by theair from the wall of the tube 161 and the heating strip 166. Insulatingmaterial 171 is applied to the sleeve 158 and the elbow 159 and isretained thereon by a fabric material and by suitable bands 172 in theconventional manner. It is to be understood that any other method may beemployed for insulating the sleeve 158 and the elbow 159. The heavywalled tube 161 forms an accumulator for heat which is built up thereinbefore heat is required in the cycle of operation of the launderingmachine, as will be explained hereinafter.

The mangle ironer 26 is of a type illustrated and described in theabove-mentioned copending application, the ironer being mounted upon abed plate 173 which is secured by a pivot 174 to a shelf 175 at thebottom of the area of the cabinet in position to be enclosed by thecover 27. The corner of the base plate 17 3 rearwardly ofthe pivot 174is provided with an arcuate flange 176 which projects below a flange 177of an arcuate guiding element 178 which is mounted upon the shelf 175.This permits the platform to swing outwardly at right angles to thefront of the cabinet, as illustrated in broken lines at 179 of Fig. 5.The arcuate flange 176 provides stability to the platform and ironermounted thereon in all positions of its movement. A flexible drivingelement 181 connects driving gears of a pressure roll 182 of the ironerto the speed-reducer unit 107, from which the ironer roll is driven. Theroll is moved toward and away from an ironer shoe 183 which is heated byan electric resistance heating element contained therein and which isrigidly mounted on the bed plate 173. A rail element 184 is mounted onthe shelf to support the end of the base plate 173 opposite to the endcontaining the pivot 17%, a front end portion 185 of the rail elementbeing sloped to cam the plate upwardly upon the rail. The closingmovement of the base plate is limited by an up wardly projecting flange186 provided at the inner end of the rail element and with which thebase plate 173 engages.

In a modified construction shown in Fig. 17, a shoe 183' of the ironeris placed in rear of a roll 182' and the ironer is stationary on theshelf 175 and has its open end disposed either to the left or right whenfacing the machine, and is herein illustrated as being disposed to theleft. In either arrangement the flexible shaft is driven at all timeswhen the motor 196 is running; and a clutch 180 (see Fig. 16) is engagedby a solenoid 209 when the roll 182 is to be driven. Foot-controlswitches are provided at the bottom of the cabinet, as illustrated inthe above-mentioned copending application, for controlling the operationof both embodiments of the ironer, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 ofsaid copending application. When one switch is operated, the roll ismoved to force the fabrics against the shoe as the fabrics are advancedthereacross by the rotation of the roll. When the other switch isoperated, the rotation of the roll is interrupted so that a pressingoperation on the fabrics will occur.

In Fig. 3 a latching bar 187 is urged by a spring 188 into latchingrelation with the door 35, the upward un latching movement of the rodbeing produced by the action of a push rod 189 operating on a bell crank191. When the door is closed, a cam surface 192 thereon earns the rod187 upwardly to permit the rod to pass thereover into latching position.

When using the laundering machine, the release rod 189 is pushedinwardly to release the door, which may then drop downwardly so that thefabrics may be placed within the receptacle 8t) along with a suitabledetergent. Thereafter the door is closed and retained in latchedposition and a control knob 193 of a cam-operated, motordriven contactswitch 194 (see Fig. 16) is then turned to on position. This completes acircuit to the motor 106 which is energized throughout the cycle ofoperation on the fabrics, as is evident from the cycling chartillustrated in Fig. 15. Simultaneously, the mixing valve 126 is openedto deliver water through the nozzle 131 at a temperature which iscontrolled by a temperature control knob 195 for the particular kind offabrics to be laundered. The water is delivered at a set rate so thatafter a predetermined time the quantity of water desired will beintroduced into the tub 58, at which time the mixing valve 126 is shutoff. Simultaneously, when the knob 193 is moved to on position, theheating element 166 is energized for storing heat in the tube 161.

The heating unit 166 has a rating of substantially 1500 watts so thatthe aggregate watt requirement for the heating element and the motor 106will be within the 1800 watts permissible to be drawn from the 115-v0ltcircuit. After the washing cycle, which requires substantially tenminutes, and during which the fabrics are tumbled within the rotatingreceptacle 80 and in the. water provided in the bottom of the tub, thedrain valve 70 opens for approximately one minute of time to drain offthe water from the tub. The drain valve then closes and rinse water isdirected into the tub, and this water is then drained ofl. afterapproximately three minutes of time. Near the end of this period, theheating unit is temporarily cut off from the supply line, after whichthe receptacle is operated at high speed through the change of gearingin the speedreducer unit 107 to spin the water from the fabrics forapproximately one minute while the drain valve is open and maintainedopen throughout the remaining operation on the fabrics.

After one minute of centrifugal extraction, hot water is sprayed intothe receptacle 80 and onto the fabrics therein, and after one moreminute the water is shut off and the extracting cycle is completed inthree additional minutes. Thereafter, the receptacle is driven at lowspeed and the motor 154 of the blower 152 is operated to circulate airthrough the tub, receptacle and fabrics to produce the drying of thefabrics. Satisfactory drying for ironing may occur in sixteen minutes orless, while complete fluff drying may require an additional ten minutesor less, so that in all, the maximum time required for washing anddrying the fabrics is forty-five minutes or less. At the end of thecycle, the contact switch 194 moves to off position, interrupting all ofthe contacts and circuits controlled thereby.

It will be noted in the complete cycle of operation on the fabrics thatthe tumble wash and rinse occurs in substantially fourteen minutes andthat the heat stored in the fabrics from the water, which is employed inthe washing and rinsing cycle, is retained in a fabrics, rotor, tub andthe area within the insulated casing. It will also be noted that thehigh Wattage requirement of the motor 106, when building up the speed ofthe receptacle 80 from low washing to high centrifuging speed, is madeavailable by cutting off the circuit to the heating element 166, so thatthe 1800 watts will be available for the motor during this time. Whenthe high speed for the receptacle has been reached or has passed throughthe high wattage requirement, the heating element 166 is again connectedto the circuit, since the motor requirement will then be that forrunning speed and the requirement for the motor at running speed andthat for the heater will be within the 1800 watts that are availablefrom the ll-volt circuit. The hot Water available from the tap is thensprayed into the receptacle 80 and onto the fabrics for raising thetemperature thereof and substantially increasing the water extractionfrom the fabrics due to the increased flowability of the containedwater. By so heating the water within the fabrics, such heating beingaugmented by the heated air sucked from the tube 161 by the high speedoperation of the receptacle, the moisture remaining in the fabrics maybe brought down to the order of approximately .3 pound of water perpound of fabrics. This highly efficient centrifugal extractionsubstantially reduces the drying requirement that will be imposed on theblower-recirculated and heated air for completely drying the fabrics.This is due to the small amount of water remaining in the fabrics afterthe extracting operation.

During the centrifugal extraction period, after the hot water has beendelivered thereto, the rotation of the receptacle within the tub willsuck in air from the accumulator-exchanger tube 161 at a temperature ofapproximately 500 to 600 R, which will further raise the temperature ofthe wet fabrics without harming the fabrics, and thereby increase thevllowability of the water and the rate of water extraction from thefabrics. After the high-speed extraction of the Water from the fabrics,the fabrics are then tumbled within the receptacle at a low speed,substantially 52 R. P. M. for sixteen minutes through the same gearingof the speed reducer 107 which operated the receptacle at substantially48 R. P. M. :due to the load on the receptacle by the Water containedwithin the tub in which the lower portion of the receptacle and thefabrics contained therein were immersed. After the high-speed operation,the motor to the blower is connected to the circuit to produce therecirculation of. the air within the tub through the receptacle andfabrics being tumbled therein, which air will attain the highesttemperat-ure reached during the slow-speed tumble-to-dry cycle, becauseof the transfer :to the recirculated air of that portion of the storedheat remaining within the accumulator exchanger tube 161 after thecentrifugal extraction period. This air soon approaches a saturationpoint having a high total heat, which is important for obtaining highdrying elliciency. The initially recirculated air may reach atemperature of from 300 to 350 E, which temperature slowly drops becausethe input energy of the heating strip 166 will not entirely offset thecooling caused by evaporation, and because the heat remaining in theaccumu-lator-exchange tube 161 is gradually dissipated. Since, when thefabrics are the wettest, higher air temperatures may be employed withoutdamaging the fabrics, and since the air temperatureprogressively lowersas the moisture content of the fabric lowers, the drying cycle of thisapparatus results in extremely efiicient drying of the fabrics.

As the vapor-laden air is drawn by the blower into the condenser housing139, approximately three-quarters thereof passes through the section 144from the tub and directly into the conduit 146 on the suction side ofthe blower. The other twenty-five percent of the air passes through thesection 14.5 and through the dehumidifier 138, after which it co-mingleswith the by-passed air and is drawn through the blower to again beheated when passing through the accumulator-exchanger tube 161. Duringthe passage of the 25% air through the condenser 13%, the temperature ofthe air drops and water is condensed therefrom so that when the mingledair is again heated its ability to take up water has been expanded manyfold, while the requirement of cold water, air, or other medium employedfor cooling the condenser 1333, is substantially smaller than would berequired if all of the recirculated air passed theret-hrough. Further,if all of the air were passed through the dehumidifier, too muchmoisture would be taken from the air, its total heat would besubstantially lowered, and an unnecessary loss of heat would therebyoccur, affecting the efliciency of the drying operation. To this end, asthe temperature of the air drops, the damper 147 begins to close throughthe operation of the thermostat 149, so that a proportionately smalleramount of air passes through the condenser, thereby retaining the hightotal heat of the recirculated air. Only that amount of moisture istaken from the air at any time, as will enable such air, after beingagain heated, to have a substantial capacity to take up moisture.

The flow of air occurs at a rate of approximately cubic feet per minute,and in a tub of four cubic foot volume, substantially thirty changes ofair will occur during each minute of drying operation. This passage ofhot, moist air, with a maximum ability to take up moisture, contributessubstantially to the rapid drying of the fabrics after a substantialamount of water has been removed from the fabrics by the centrifugingoperation at high temperature. The operation contemplates retaining allof the heat within the cabinet and the fabrics after the washingoperation and efficiently employing the heat from. the l500-watt heatingelement energized from the ll5-volt circuit, so that the washing anddrying cycles are performed in forty-five minutes or less of time. Insuch a machine, the fabrics are dry when handled, being dry when placedwithin the receptacle and when removed therefrom.

After the fabrics have been washed and dried, the door 35 may then beopened, the lid 2'7 raised, and the ironer 26 swung outwardly intooperating position. The motor ms is then available for driving the speedreducer 107 and the flexible drive element 181 for operating the mangleroll 182 in the normal manner bysuitable controls carried on the bed 173but not herein illustrated.

The fabrics may be. removed piece by piece from the receptacle andpassed through the ironer, to thereby substantially reduce the amount ofhandling of the fabrics.

The supporting arms 51 and 45, interconnected by the resilient sleeves48, form resilient supporting units for the tub, motors, blowers, andother elements secured thereto. The resilient supporting units form thedamping means for limiting vibration of the tub, which occurs wheneverthe contents of the rotating receptacle form an unbalanced load, butespecially when the speed of the receptacle is changing from washing tocentrifuging speed, or when the receptacle is operating at centrifugingspeed. The ironer unit mounted on the shelf 175 provides the necessaryweight at the forward portion of the cabinetto eliminate any vibrationto the cabinet as the tub is vibrating, while the rearwardly extendingarms 59 on the tub space the rear resilient supporting units rearwardlyso that the center of gravity of the tub and the elements securedthereto is not only between the four supporting elements but closer tothe two rear supporting elements than to the two forward elements.Because the center of weight of the tub and elements mounted thereon istoward the rear, the resilient sleeves 48 thereof may have difiierentcharacteristics from those mounted at the front of the tub so as toproduce a greater snubbing force at the rear than at the front of thetub.

The receptacle 80 is dimensioned to handle efficiently six pounds of dryfabrics for washing, and for subsequently performing a drying operationthereon. The

receptacle herein illustrated is 16" deep from the front to the rearwalls, and 24" in diameter, providing four cubic feet of volume, whichconforms to the capacity of efiieient drying machines handling one and ahalf pounds of fabrics for each cubic foot of content. The peripheralwall of the receptacle is provided with six vanes so as to handle thesix pounds of fabrics efficiently for washing and drying. Normally, thereceptacle could satisfactorily wash substantially 12 pounds of fabrics,but greater efficiency is obtained in the washing of the six pounds offabrics and in conforming to the capacity of the receptacle for drying,by operating at a Washing speed of substantially 48 R. P. M. whichcarries the fabrics to the top of the receptacle where they fall off ina parabolic path and drop downwardly onto the bottom portion of thereceptacle and in the water contained therein. This opens the fabricsand causes the water to be forced therethrough, which is the function tobe performed in a washing operation on fabrics. Before centrifugallyoperating the receptacle, it is desirable to slowly increase the speedthereof from 48 R. P. M. to substantially R. P. M. so that the increasedcentrifugal force will exceed the gravitational pull, and thereby spreadthe fabrics evenly over the peripheral wall of the receptacle, so as toavoid, as much as possible, an off-center load which would produce unduevibration and require substantial damping by the resilient supportingunits. This higher speed could be achieved while slowly building up fromwashing to centrifuging speed, or a set terminal speed could be employedto change from the 48 R. P. M. to 60 R. P. M. speed. To further avoidthe vibration occurring at resonant speeds, two more set terminal speedscould be utilized, one of which would rapidly advance the speed from 60R. P. M. to 300 R. P. M. and the other from 300 R. P. M. to 600 R. P. M.Such a two-stage arrangement for advancing from low to high speedsubstantially reduces the load on the motor which could thereby rapidlyincrease the speed through each stage. This reduces the chance that theresonant speed would set up any noticeable amount of vibration, such aswould occur if the motor were required to drive the receptacle directlyfrom either the 48 or 60 R. P. M. speed to the desired 600 R. P. M.stage.

' Fig. 16 illustrates a wiring diagram for producing a sequentialoperation of the various elements of the 1 2 laundering machine to drivethe machine through the various stages of operations embodied in thewashing to fluff-drying cycle. The knob 193 operates the contact switch194 which is thereafter driven by a motor 196. The switch is providedwith a plurality of cams 197, each of which operates a pair of contacts198 to 205 inclusive, 211, 213, 215, 217.

When the knob 193 is turned to on position, contacts 202 close, closingthe circuit to the motor 106 which drives the receptacle 80. Contacts199 also close completing a circuit to the motor 118 for the pump 119and also to the motor 196 for the contact switch 194. Contacts 198 areclosed to energize solenoid 206 which shifts the speed reducer tooperate the receptacle at 48 R. P. M. Contacts 203 also close completinga circuit to the drain valve 70 which is moved to closed position, andcontacts 200 and 201 close to complete a circuit to the solenoids of thehot and cold water supply which open to deliver water to the mixingvalve 126 to start the flow of warm water to the tub. The cam plates 187move to open the contacts 200, 201 after approximately one minutes time,which is the time required to deliver the required amount of waterapproximately four gallons through the mixing valve 126 to the tub 58.Simultaneously with the movement of the knob 193 to on position,contacts 205 are closed, completing a circuit to the heating strip 166,the resulting heat from which is stored in the accumulator-exchangertube 161 during the washing and rinsing operations.

After approximately ten minutes of operation, the contacts 203 open forone minute to drain the water from the tub. The contacts then close,closing the drain, and contacts 200 and 201 are again closed to producea flow of warm water to the tub for approximately one minute of time.Thereafter, the contacts 200 and 201 are opened to discontinue the flowof warm water, and after approximately one minute of time the contacts203 again open to open the drain valve which is maintained open for theremainder of the operation of the machine. Before the end of the threeminute rinse-drain period, the contacts 205 are opened to discontinuethe flow of electrical energy through the heating strip 166 so that thewattage of the circuit will be available for the motor 106. Contacts 198are opened and contacts 211 are closed to energize a solenoid 212 whichshifts the speed reducer to rotate the receptacle at 60 R. P. M. todistribute the fabrics evenly therein. At the end of the three minuteperiod, contacts 211 are opened and contacts 213 are closed to energizea solenoid 214 which shifts the speed reducer to rotate the receptacleat 600 R. P. M. A short time thereafter the contacts 205 are closed toagain complete the circuit to the heating strip 166 since the motor isagain operating at running speed.

After the first minute that the receptacle operates at centrifugingspeed to extract the rinse water from the fabrics, the contact 201 isclosed to produce a flow of hot water directly from the tap into thereceptacle to produce a spray rinse while the receptacle is operating atex tracting speed. After one minute of spray rinsing the contacts 201open, cutting off the flow of water to the tub. The extracting speed iscontinued for three more minutes, and during the five-minute extractingperiod the operation of the receptacle at high speed within the tub 58produces a suction in the tube 161 for drawing heated air therefrom at atemperature of 500 to 600 F., the heated air permeating the fabricswithin the re ceptacle and thereby increasing the temperature of thefabrics, receptacle and tub over that produced by the hot tap waterwhich was introduced during the second minute of the extracting period.

As pointed out hereinabove, this high temperature of the receptacle andfabrics produces a favorable change in the coefficient of kinematicviscosity of the water contained about the fibers of the fabrics, whichcauses itto flow readily therefrom. The elfect of the centrifugalforceof extraction uponthe water within the fabrics produces the increasedextraction of the water from the fabricsdue to the increased flowabilityof the water. Not only, there fore, are the fabrics heated substantiallyat the beginning of the slow-speed or final drying cycle, but also alarge per centage of the entrained water has been removed therefrom, sothat the amount of drying to be performed by the blower-recirculated andheated air is substantially lowered, thereby reducing the time requiredto iron-dry and to fluff-dry the fabrics.

At the end of the five-minute centrifugal extracting period, contacts213 are opened and contacts 215 are closed to energize a solenoid 216,which shifts the speed reducer to operate the receptacle at 52 R. P. M.during the slow-speed or final drying cycle of operation. At the sametime, the contacts 204 are closed to energize the motor 154- of theblower 152 to produce the recirculation of the air within the tub, whichcontacts also complete a circuit to the cold-water valve 136 whichadmits cold tap water to the condenser or dehumidifier 138. At the endof the time cycle, whether set for drying to either the iron-dry orcomplete fiulT-dry stage, the cam plates 197 return toinitial position,thereby opening all of the contacts 1% to 205, 211, 213, 215 and 217,de-energizing all of the motors, heaters and other elements to end'thecycle of operation and have the contact switch 194 set up ready toinitiate a subsequent operation when the knob 193 is turned to onposition.

When the ironer is to be utilized, a switch 207 is manually closed tocomplete a circuit to heating element 208 contained within the shoe 183of the ironer and also to energize a solenoid 209 which shifts theclutch 180 to produce a drive to the roll 182 from the flexible driveelement 131. The motor 106 is energized through the completion of acircuit thereto from the line 210 which is energized when the switch 207is closed. Therefore, upon closing the switch 207, the motor 106 drivesthe flexible shaft 181 for operating the ironer roll 182 in rotation andfor moving it toward and from the shoe 183 in the manner as illustratedand described in the. above mentioned copending application of whichthis application is a continuation-in-part. The fabrics which have beenirondried may be removed piece by piece and ironed sen'atim through themangle ironer, and after the completion of the ironing operation theironer unit may be enclosed by the cover 27 which is swung downwardlythereover, the switch 207 first being moved to off position. Thecircuits herein illustrated are connected to the single 115- voltcircuit at the terminal ends 220.

While a complete machine with controls for producing a specific cycle ofoperation has been illustrated for producing a laundering operation onfabrics to wash and dry the fabrics in an acceptable time of forty-fiveminutes or less on a ll5-volt circuit, it is to be understood that themachine is not limited to this specific arrangement. Machines may beemployed which operate the heating strip 166 from a 230-volt line in amanner commonly employed today. In such an arrangement, theaccumulator-exchanger tube 161 is energized only a short time before theblower 152 is operated, as heat will be no cumulated much faster whenheat energy is provided from a 5000 watt heater energized from the230-volt source. The same principle of maintaining 100% tocirculatedfair with a large water content and high total heat, would be utilized,as Well as a condenser or other type of dehumidifier,- for removing onlya measured portion of the water from the air being circulated. Dri-ersalone could be constructed for ll5-volt and for 23% volt circuits,utilizing an accumulator-exchanger tube 161 to store heat therein duringthe time the receptacle 8!) is being loaded with the wet fabrics removedfrom a centrifugal extractor. The principle of introducing heat into thefabrics at a high "temeprature at a time when the fabrics have a highwater content and the gradual lower- 14 ing, ofthe. temperature of therecirculatedair as the water: contentof the: fabrics is. lowered;obtains in; such a: type of drier, whichis operated satisfactorily onv aIlS-volt circuit. as well as on-a 23 0-volt circuit.

It is also pointed out that: the lint scavenged from the fabrics during.the drying. operation is trapped upon the large screen 1421whichisprovided over the air-outlet aperture 141 in the peripheral wall of thetub 58-. In the subsequent laundering operation upon the fabrics, thislint is washed from. the screen and goes dow n the drain, when the drainvalve opens after completion of the wash"- ing operation. It is. withinthe purview of the present invention to provide a flow of Water at thebeginning of the operation through the screen to make certain that thelint is removed therefrom, and to this end a nozzle 131' may be placedwithin the duct housing 139, preferably above the outlet conduit 146thereof so as to spray against the face of the condenser to wash anylint therefrom which may have passed through thescreen and to thoroughlywash the dehumidifier and the screen therebelow of any accumulated lint.The tests so far run demonstrate the fact that the line which collectsduring a drying cycle will be washed from the screen during theextracting cycle of the next laundering operation and no lint was foundto have collected upon the condenser. However, it is not certain thatsome lint will not pass through the screen or permanently collectthereon, and it is for this reason that it was stated a spray could beemployed within the housing139 to wash the lint from the condenser andthe screen.

In case it is desired to starch a load of fabrics, it is only necessaryto supply a container 218 (see Fig. 16) of liquid starch mounted on aninjector housing 219 in the conduit 129 containing a valve actuated by asolenoid 221 from contacts 217 to apply a light spray of starch onto thefabrics during the centrifuging cycle along with the hot water directedinto the receptacle. A manual switch 222 is located on the cabinet,indicating an oi? and an on position for starch, so that when a load isto be starched it is only necessary for the operator to move the switchto on position to add the starch-cycle of operation of. the machine. Theswitch 222 is located in the circuit from the contacts 217 which do notcomplete a circuit to the solenoid 221 when the switch 222 is open. Theforce for injecting the starch by the flow of the hot water during theextracting period is produced by a Well-known venturi or injectionaction. When other loads of fabrics are to be processed through themachine without starching, the manual starch switch 222 is then thrownto off position.

It is to be understood further that the pump motor and pump may bemounted either on the back wall or the peripheral wall of the tub sothat all of the operating elements of the machine are removed from thecabinet when the tub is removed therefrom. This substantiallyfacilitates the repair of any of the elements of the washing machine andthe complete unit may be removed and a loan unit substituted thereforwhile the removed unit is returned to the shop for repair if majorrepair is required. It is not contemplated that any major repair will benecessary on the machine'because of the simplicity of all of thecomponent elements contained therein, any one of which may besubstituted at the place Where the machine is located. When the machineis operated, substantially no vibration is passed to the cabinet fromthe oscillation of the tub in view of the degree of damping provided bythe new damping structure employed for supporting the tub atthe bottomcorners thereof. it further to be understood that the term container employed in the claims is to apply to the tub 58 when the machine is usedas a washing-drying device, and when employed solely as a drying devicethe tub 58 becomes the outer container therefor.

What is claimed is: v

1. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in said container,means supporting said container, means on said container for agitatingfabrics in said receptacle, an air circulatory system connected to saidcontainer, a heat-storage element in said system, a heating element insaid storage element, and a dehumidifier in said system.

2. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle insaid container,means supporting said container, means on said container for agitatingfabrics in said receptacle, a blower, an inlet conduit from saidcontainer to said blower, an outlet conduit from said blower to saidcontamer, means reducing the moisture content of the air in the'conduits and container, a heat storage means in said outlet conduit, anda heating element for said storage means.

3. In a laundering machine, a container, means supporting saidcontainer, a receptacle in said container, means for driving saidreceptacle in rotation at washing and extracting speeds, a valve fordraining said container, said drain valve remaining closed when thereceptacle is being driven at washing speed, a blower, an inlet conduitnear the top of the container leading from said container to saidblower, an outlet conduit from said blower to said container, adehumidifier in the path of air through the container and conduits, aconduit for a cooling medium connected to said dehumidifier, and alintcollecting screen provided across said inlet conduit adjacent tosaid top of the container in such position that lint collected thereonduring the drying cycle of operation is washed away during a subsequentlaundering operation when the drain valve is open.

4. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in said container,means for driving said receptacle in rotation, a blower, an inletconduit from said container to said blower, an outlet conduit from saidblower to said container, a dehumidifier in the path of air through saidcontainer and conduits, heat-storage means in the path of flow of airthrough the outlet conduit, and a heating element for said storagemeans.

5. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in said container,means for driving said receptacle in rotation, a blower, an inletconduit from said container to said blower, an outlet conduit from saidblower to said container, a dehumidifier in the path of air through saidcontainer and conduits, a conduit for a cooling medium connected to saiddehumidifier, heating means mounted within the outlet conduit, and anaccumulatorcxchanger in said outlet conduit heated by said heatingmeans.

6. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in said container,means for driving said receptacle in rotation, a blower, an inletconduit from said container to said blower, an outlet conduit from saidblower to said container, a dehumidifier in said inlet conduit,heatstorage means mounted within the path of air through the outletconduit, a heating element for heating said storage means, saidheat-storage means embodying a heavy-walled tube, and an air-agitatingvane mounted within the tube.

7. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in said container,means for agitating fabrics in said receptacle, a blower mounted on saidcontainer, an inlet conduit from said container to said blower, anoutlet conduit from said blower to said container, a dehumidifier insaid inlet conduit, heating means mounted within the outlet conduit, anaccumulatonexchanger in said outlet conduit heated by said heatingmeans, said accumulator exchanger embodying a heavy-availed conductingtube with which the heating means is in contact, an air-agitatingvanemounted within the conducting tube, said conducting tube being spacedfrom the outlet conduit, and means for completely sealing and insulatingthe outlet conduit.

' 8. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, means for driving saidreceptacle in rotation, a blowermounted on said container, aninlet conduit from said container to saidblower, an outlet conduit from said blower to said container, adehumidifier in said inlet conduit, heating means mounted within theoutlet conduit, an accumulator-exchanger in said outlet conduit heatedby said heating means, said accumulator-exchanger embodying aheavy-walled conducting tube with which the heating means is in contact,and an airagitating vane mounted within the conducting tube, saidconducting tube being spaced from the inner Wall of the outlet conduit,the upper end of the conducting tube being tapered for directing aportion of the air between the outer wall of the conducting tube and theinner wall of the outlet conduit.

9. In a laundering machine, a tub, supporting means for said tub, areceptacle in said tub, motor means on the tub, speed-reducing means onsaid tub for driving said receptacle at washing and centrifuging speeds,a blower having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit so mounted as tohave the conduits connected to the tub, a dehumidifier in the path ofair through the tub and conduits, a heating element and accumulator inthe outlet conduit, and means for delivering a heating medium other thansaid air to the receptacle during the operation thereof at centrifugingspeed in order to raise the temperature of the receptacle, fabrics andthe water contained therein and thus increase the rate of extraction ofwater from the fabrics while the receptacle is being driven at thecentrifuging speed and initiate the drying operation before the bloweris operated.

10. In a laundering machine, a tub, supporting means for said tub, areceptacle. in said tub, motor means on said machine, speed-reducingmeans on said machine for driving said receptacle at washing andcentrifuging speeds, a blower having inlet and outlet conduits soconstructed and mounted as to have the conduits connected to the tub, adehumidifier in the path of flow of air through said tub and conduits, aheating element in said path whereby recirculation of the air throughthe tub and conduits is maintained during the drying cycle on thefabrics within the receptacle, a heat-storage element in contact withsaid heating element, a water supply for the tub, draining means for thetub, a circuit from a llS-volt line for operating the motor and forenergizing the heating element, and switch means for completing acircuit to the heating element during the washing cycle when the motormeans is operating at running speed and for disconnecting the heatingelement from the circuit when the motor means is loadedwhile changingthe speed of the receptacle to centrifuging speed and for completing thecircuit to the heating element when .the motor means is driving thereceptacle at high speed.

11. In a laundering machine, a tub, a receptacle in said tub, motormeans for agitating fabrics in said tub and extracting water therefrom,air-circulating means, a conduit system connected to said tub providinga path of air therethrough, a heater and heat-accumulating means in saidpath of air, and switch means for connecting said motor and heater in anelectric circuit and for cutting out the heater at the time ofinitiating the extracting operation.

12. In a laundering machine, a tub, a receptacle in said tub, a motorand speed-reducing means on said tub for driving said receptacle atwashing and centrifuging speeds, vibration damping means for said tubwhich permits the tub to oscillate, a blower having inlet and outletconduits connected to the tub, means for circulating airin said tub andconduits, a dehumidifier in the path of circulated air, a heatingelement in said path of circulated air, a cabinet enclosing saidlaundering machine, and weight means supported on said cabinet forpreventing any substantial vibration thereof when said tub isoscillating. I

13. In a laundering machine, a tub, a receptacle in said tub, a motorand speed-reducing means on said tub for driving said receptacle atwashing and centrifuging speeds, vibration-damping means for said tubwhich permits the tub to oscillate, a blower having inlet and outletconduits connected to the tub, means for circulating air in said tub andconduits, a dehumidifier in the path of circulated air, a heatingelement in said path of circulated air, a cabinet enclosing saidlaundering machine, weight means on said cabinet for preventing anysubstantial vibration thereof whensaid tub is oscillating, said weightmeans being an ironer having an ironing roll, and a drive for said rollconnected to said speed-reducing means.

14. In a laundering machine for washing and completely drying fabrics, atub, a rotatable receptacle in said tub having a rear wall portionpervious to the flow of air therethrough, means for driving saidreceptacle at low and high speeds, a drain for said tub, a water-supplyconduit for said tub, a blower, an air inlet conduit from said tub, saidblower being connected to said inlet conduit, an air outlet conduit fromsaid blower to said tub located opposite to the pervious rear wallportion of said receptacle, a condenser in the path of air through saidtub and conduits, a supply conduit for a cooling medium connected tosaid condenser, and a heating element in said outlet conduit.

15. In a laundering machine for washing and completely drying fabrics, atub, a rotatable receptacle in said tub having a rear wall portionpervious to the flow of air therethrough, means for driving saidreceptacle at low and high speeds, a drain for said tub, a water-supplyconduit for said tub, a blower, an air inlet conduit from said tub, saidblower being connected to said inlet conduit, an air outlet conduit fromsaid blower to said tub located opposite to the pervious rear wallportion of said receptacle, a condenser in the path of air through saidtub and conduits, a supply conduit for a cooling medium connected tosaid condenser, a heat accumulator in said outlet conduit, and a heatingelement for said accumulator.

16. In a laundering machine for washing and completely drying fabrics, atub, a rotatable receptacle in said tub having a portion of the rearwall pervious to the flow of air therethrough, means for driving saidreceptacle at low and high speeds, a drain for said tub, a water-supplyconduit for said tub, a blower, an air inlet conduit from said tub, saidblower being connected to said inlet conduit, an air outlet conduit fromsaid blower to said tub located opposite to the pervious portion of therear wall of said receptacle, a dehumidifier in the path of air throughthe tub and conduits, a supply conduit for a cooling medium connected tosaid condenser, a heating element in said outlet conduit, structuralmeans for supporting said tub, and a cabinet supported by saidstructural means.

17. In a laundering machine for washing and completely drying fabrics, atub, a rotatable receptacle in said tub having a portion of the rearwall pervious to the flow of air therethrough, means for driving said rreceptacle at low and high speeds, a drain for said tub, a water-supplyconduit for said tub, a blower, an air inlet conduit from said tub, saidblower being connected to said inlet conduit, an air outlet conduit fromsaid blower to said tub located opposite to the pervious portion of therear wall of said receptacle, a condenser in the path of air throughsaid tub and conduits, a supply conduit for a cooling medium connectedto said condenser, a heating element in said outlet conduit, and ascreen on the tub across said inlet conduit for collecting lint thereonduring the drying cycle which is in a position to have the lint washedtherefrom during the subsequent laundering cycle.

18. In a laundering machine for washing and completely drying fabrics, atub, a rotatable receptacle in said tub, means for driving saidreceptacle at low and high speeds, a water-supply conduit for said tub,a blower, an air inlet conduit from said tub, a screen covering saidinlet conduit to collect lint, said blower being connected to said inletconduit, an air outlet conduit from said blower to said tub, a condenserin the path of air through said tub and conduits, a supply conduit for acooling medium connected to said condenser, a heating element in saidoutlet conduit, and a control switch for regulating the delivery of warmwater during the washing cycle, the delivery of hot water during therinse extracting cycle, and the recirculation of heated air at hightotal heat during the drying cycle.

19. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle, within thecontainer, means for agitating fabrics within the receptacle, acompletely closed recirculatory system for air connected to saidcontainer, means for circulating air through the container and saidsystem, a dehumidifier in the path of air through the container and saidsystem, a heat accumulator within said path of air, and means forheating said accumulator.

20. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, means for driving said receptacle in rotation, a blower, anoutlet conduit from said blower to said container, heat-storage means ofconducting material and of substantial mass within said conduit in thepath of flow of air therethrough, and an electrically energizableheating element in said storage means.

21. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle for fabrics insaid container, means for driving said receptacle for agitating thefabrics therein, a conduit connected to said container, a blowerconnected to said conduit, a heat-storage element of conducting materialand. of substantial mass in said conduit, and an electricallyenergizable heating element in said storage element.

22. In a laundering machine as recited in claim 21, wherein saidheat-storage means of substantial mass has fin means associatedtherewith over which said air passes.

23. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, motor means for driving said receptacle at washing,centrifuging and drying speeds, a blower having an inlet conduit and anoutlet conduit both of, which are connected to said container, a watercondenser in the path of air through said tub and conduits, a solenoidvalve controlling the flow of water to the condenser, a heating elementin said outlet conduit, switch means for completing a circuit to saidheating element, said receptacle when operating at centrifuging speedsucking the heated air into the receptacle, and additional switch meansfor completing a circuit to a motor for operating the blower and to thesolenoid valve for admitting water to the condenser upon completion ofthe. centrifuging operation of said receptacle.

24. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, motor means for driving said receptacle at washing,centrifuging and drying speeds, a blower hav-, ing an inlet conduit andan outlet conduit both of which are connected to said container, a watercondenser in the path of air through said container and conduits, asolenoid valve controlling the flow of water to the condenser, a heatingelement in said outlet conduit, valve means for introducing rinse waterat high temperature to the receptacle for a final rinse cycle during theoperation of the receptacle at centrifuging speed, switch means forcompleting a circuit to said heating element, said receptacle whenoperating at centrifuging speed sucking the heated air into thereceptacle, and additional switch means for completing a circuit to amotor for operating the blower and to the solenoid valve for ad mittingwater to the dehumidifier upon completion of the centrifuging operationof said receptacle.

25. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, means for driving said receptacle at washing, centrifugingand drying speeds, a blower having an inlet conduit and an outletconduit both of which are connected to the container, a water condenserin the path of air through said container and conduits, a sole noidvalve controlling the flow of water to the condenser, a heating elementin said outlet conduit, switch means for completing a circuit to saidheating element, means producing a flow of heated air to said containerand receptacle during the centrifuging and drying portions of thelaundering operation, and means for actuating said solenoid valve sothat said condenser begins to operate only upon completion of saidcentrifuging operation in order that the circulated air, fabrics,receptacle and container will attain a high-temperature level duringcentrifuging and before the circulating air begins to lose heat throughthe operation of the condenser.

26. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, means for driving said receptacle at washing, centrifugingand drying speeds, a blower having an inlet conduit and an outletconduit both of which are connected to the container, means for reducingthe water-vapor content of the air as it is being recirculated, aheating element in said outlet conduit, switch means for completing acircuit to said heating element, means producing a flow of heated air tosaid container and receptacle during the centrifuging and dryingportions of the laundering operation, and means for commencing theoperation of said water-vapor-reducing means only at the end of saidcentrifuging operation in order that the circulated air, fabrics,receptacle and container will attain a high-temperature level during thecentrifuging operation and before heat is lost by removing water vaporfrom the recirculated air.

27. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, motor means for driving said receptacle at washing,centrifuging and drying speeds, a blower having an inlet conduit and anoutlet conduit both of which are connected to said container, means forreducing the waiter-vapor content of the air being recirculated, aheating element in said outlet conduit, a solenoid valve for controllingthe operation of said water-vapor-reducing means, switch means forcompleting a circuit to said heating element, means producing a flow ofheated air during the operation of said receptacle at centrifuging speedand thereafter at drying speed, and additional switch means forcompleting a circuit to said solenoid valve for reducing the vaporcontent of the air being recirculated at the end of the centrifugingoperation of said receptacle.

28. In a laundering machine for washing and completely drying fabrics, atub, a rotatable receptacle in said tub, means for driving saidreceptacle at low and high speeds, a water-supply conduit for said tub,a blower, an air-inlet conduit from said tub, a screen covering saidinlet conduit to collect lint, said blower being connected to said inletconduit, an air-outlet conduit from said blower to said tub, means forreducing the water-vapor content of the air being recirculated, aheating element in said outlet conduit, and switch means for supplyingwash and rinse cycles with heated water and a drying cycle with heatedrecirculated air at high total heat.

29. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle within thecontainer, means for agitating fabrics within the receptacle, arecirculatory system for air connected to said container, means forcirculating air through the container and said system, means forreducing the watervapor content of the air being recirculated, a heataccumulator within said path of air, and means for heating saidaccumulator.

30. In a laundering machine, a container, means su porting saidcontainer, a receptacle in said container,

means for driving said receptacle in rotation at washing 31. In alaundering machine, a container, a receptacle insaid container, meansfor agitating fabrics in the receptacle to perform a washing operation,means for operating said receptacle for centrifugally extracting waterfrom the fabrics, means delivering rinse water at a high temperature tothe container during an intermediate portion of the lastrinsing-extracting operation for increasing the separation of the waterfrom the fabrics by decreasing the viscosity of the water and providingheat for initiating the effective drying cycle on a high-energy level,an air-recirculating system having an inlet and outlet connected to thecontainer, heating means in said system, a condenser in said systemlocated to operate on a portion only of the air circulating in thesystem so that the remainder may be retained at a high-temperaturelevel, said portion acted on by the condenser having a substantialamount of water removed therefrom by said condenser to retain a desiredhigh temperature and high water content in all of the air so that theair when thereafter heated will have a high total heat and an ability totake up moisture which is increased many fold.

32. In a laundering machine, a container, a receptacle in saidcontainer, means for agitating fabrics in the receptacle to perform awashing operation, means for operating said receptacle for centrifugallyextracting water from the fabrics, means delivering rinse water at ahigh temperature to the container during an intermediate portion of thelast rinsing-extracting operation for in creasing the separation of thewater from the fabrics by decreasing the viscosity of the water andproviding heat for initiating the effective drying cycle on ahigh-energy level, an air recirculating system having an inlet andoutlet connected to the container, heating means in said system, acondenser in said system located to operate on a portion only of the aircirculating in the system so that the remainder may be retained at ahigh-temperature level, said portion acted on by the condenser having asubstantial amount of water removed therefrom by the condenser to retaina desired high temperature and high water content in all of the air sothat the air delivered to the receptacle after being heated will have asaturation of 10% to 50% and the air delivered from the receptacle willhave a saturation of from 50% to References Cited in the file of thispatent UNETED STATES PATENTS 1,052,834 Lawrence Feb. 11, 1913 1,799,649Schenck Apr. 7, 1931 1,981,234 Hetzer Nov. 20, 1934 1,986,863 TerryJan.'8, 1935 2,019,011 Johnson Oct. 29, 1935 2,064,084 Sando Dec. 15,1936 2,114,776 Davis Apr. 19, 1938 2,252,541 Arnold Aug. 12, 19412,282,188 Home May 5, 1942 2,284,051 Gilbert May 26, 1942 2,296,260Breckenridge Sept. 22, 1942 2,310,680 Dinley 2 Feb. 9, 1943 2,314,155McCleary Mar. 16, 1943 2,316,669 Busi Apr. 13, 1943 2,318,806 Sisson eta1 May 11, 1943 2,328,256 Breckenridge Aug. 31, 1943 2,356,816Breckenridge et a1 Aug. 29, 1944 2,418,239 Smith Apr. 1, 1947 2,434,476Wales l'an. 13, 1948 2,502,211 Dyer l /iar. 2.8, 1950 2,553,581 HatfieldWay 22, 1951 2,555,268 Chamberlin May 29, 1951 2,607,209 ConstantineAug. 19, 1952 2,629,245 Chamberlin Feb. 24, 1953 2,637,189 Douglas -1May 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 914,656 France -2 a June 24, 194-6 143,605Australia Ian. 26, 1950

